Appliance repair - replacing fridge door gasket?

[SZR48207]

Have any of you ever replaced the gasket on a refrigerator door (either the freezer or refrigerator part) and considered the repair a success?

I have a 12+ year old Hotpoint side by side fridge that has been chugging along great (knock on wood) but occasionally I find that the freezer has formed ice crystals and it seems like the door didn't make a full seal. The compressor will be running full speed and the air inside the freezer will seem cold and clammy.

This has also made most of my frozen foods "burn" a lot quicker as a result.

The feet are adjusted such that the unit is level from left to right, but slanted down toward the back to encourage the weight of the doors to close. One culprit is that me closing the refrigerator side door causes the air pressure to pop open the freezer side, but I've read this is normal?

It seems like the next step is to look at replacing the freezer door gasket, but with the part being around $50, I'm hesitant to drop the money just yet.

Hoping to get some experiences so I can finalize my decision to go with the gasket replacement.

Thanks.

 

[901Memphis]

Gorilla tape on the side. Holds well and can be peeled back and re applied for months

 

[CT8]

I just used this sites repair video to fix my dryer. See if they have a video for your model of refrigerator. here I usually replace things when they get older. But I fixed the dryer and hope it lasts to pay off the repair parts.

 

[Wolf359]

I think you got your money's worth out of that fridge. Check out this site:

https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=refrig.calculator

You might save $30-$50 a year in electricity or more with a new one so it'd pay for itself after a few years.

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
I think you got your money's worth out of that fridge. Check out this site:

https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=refrig.calculator

You might save $30-$50 a year in electricity or more with a new one so it'd pay for itself after a few years.


The calculator says I'd save $31/year to buy a new one, but I'm within a year or two from selling this house. I may or may not keep the fridge, so even though it's tempting to upgrade appliances, I'm aiming for a short term fix so that my frozen foods quit going bad early.

 

[69GTX]

I would think that as long as the gasket was in place with no obvious air gaps, you should be fine. I guess you could try and make seating surfaces a tad stickier to form a better seal. My neighbor has just the opposite problem. He constantly lets the seal get gunked with junk, then the seal tends to pull out of the track due the increased friction when opening the door. I've had to fix it for him 3X in the past 18 months. And I usually don't know that he has a problem until I see duct tape wrapped around the freezer door.

Aren't there any sources of cheap knock offs where you don't have to pay $50 for a new seal? The material can't be that expensive if bought in strips and then cut/glued to make your own. Your problem could also be other issues with the fridge such as the charge being reduced. Have you gone through cleaning all the coils, defrosting everything, etc? You can just ensure it's always full (even if just 1 gallon jugs of bottled water) to make it easier to keep things frozen.

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
I would think that as long as the gasket was in place with no obvious air gaps, you should be fine. I guess you could try and make seating surfaces a tad stickier to form a better seal. My neighbor has just the opposite problem. He constantly lets the seal get gunked with junk, then the seal tends to pull out of the track due the increased friction when opening the door. I've had to fix it for him 3X in the past 18 months. And I usually don't know that he has a problem until I see duct tape wrapped around the freezer door.

Aren't there any sources of cheap knock offs where you don't have to pay $50 for a new seal? The material can't be that expensive if bought in strips and then cut/glued to make your own. Your problem could also be other issues with the fridge such as the charge being reduced. Have you gone through cleaning all the coils, defrosting everything, etc? You can just ensure it's always full (even if just 1 gallon jugs of bottled water) to make it easier to keep things frozen.


Sadly no. I'm not seeing that there's much of an aftermarket for the door seal. It also doesn't seem like you can make one yourself because the seal is joined at all 4 corners.

I spent some time earlier this year cleaning the coils and vacuuming underneath it. It is probably due for a complete defrost (the water dispenser line is frozen), but I have to plan around that because I don't have a backup fridge.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Use the dollar bill test to see if you really need a gasket. Close the door with a dollar bill between the gasket and the refrigerator, and then slide it out. Test it all the way around the door. If the dollar bill slides out without tension, then replace the gasket. If it has tension all around, your gasket/seal are good.

The gasket is easy to replace, but it does require the refrigerator to be turned off for a while, and the door removed in order to remove the old gasket and install the new one. Replacing it is extremely easy-just remove the old one and replace it with the new one. I'm sure there are lots of videos on the actual procedure.

 

[BigD1]

Temporarily to see if it helps, clean the seal, and then wax it. I keep a bar of canning wax around the house to wax the door seals on my fridge and deep freezer.

 

[Brolly]

I have replaced my freezer and refrigerator door gasket on mine about 2 years ago. I took both doors off and unscrewed the panels off. Took off the old gaskets and slid the new ones on. Screwed everything back on. 30min job better than spending hundreds or thousands on a new one. Works fine now no problems with building ice crystals. The other thing you may want to look at is the hinges of the door are they loose and out of alignment.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Use the dollar bill test to see if you really need a gasket. Close the door with a dollar bill between the gasket and the refrigerator, and then slide it out. Test it all the way around the door. If the dollar bill slides out without tension, then replace the gasket. If it has tension all around, your gasket/seal are good.

The gasket is easy to replace, but it does require the refrigerator to be turned off for a while, and the door removed in order to remove the old gasket and install the new one. Replacing it is extremely easy-just remove the old one and replace it with the new one. I'm sure there are lots of videos on the actual procedure.


Neat idea. I like it. +1

 

[SHOZ]

I replaced some on an old fridge years ago. The doors are kind of flimsy and it's a good idea taking them off. It would be relatively easy that way.

 

[Papa Bear]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Use the dollar bill test to see if you really need a gasket. Close the door with a dollar bill between the gasket and the refrigerator, and then slide it out. Test it all the way around the door. If the dollar bill slides out without tension, then replace the gasket. If it has tension all around, your gasket/seal are good.


+1

 

[69GTX]

Some freezer door gaskets are a 2 minute job to replace. Many are just a snap in/pull out type with no fasteners of any kind. I like those.